Oscar-Winner in the Background

Why you've probably heard -- but not heard of -- Franz Waxman

By

Terry Teachout

Updated Dec. 23, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

NEW YORK -- The Museum of Modern Art is currently paying tribute to a composer whose name is not a household word, even though there's a better-than-even chance that you've heard his music. Franz Waxman, who died in 1967, wrote some of the 20th century's most familiar pieces of orchestral music -- none of which was premiered in a concert hall.

Puzzled? Don't be. Waxman was a German-born musician who immigrated to the U.S. in 1934 and settled in California, where he quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's top film...